Uganda shutdown of social media proves futile as users bypass ISPs

Attempts by the Ugandan government to shut down popular social media sites Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, especially on mobile devices, appear to have come to naught as users resorted to virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the blockade to exchange information on voting, tallying and announcement of results.

VPNs are virtual versions of secure networks designed to provide a secure, encrypted tunnel in which to transmit data over parallel systems aimed to block it.